Why Go to Mayberry Days?

I’ve heard some say that they don’t like fighting the traffic or the big crowds of people.  Well…there is a crowd…reportedly upwards of 45,000 people or so at the parade on Saturday morning.  BUT, you have to know…this is a DIFFERENT kind of crowd.  The folks that attend the Mayberry events like this one are Mayberry kinds of folks.  Everybody is nice, everybody entrenches themselves in the Mayberry experience, and everybody there “talks Mayberry.”  You’ll see all sorts of Chapters represented, sporting their logos and t-shirts. 

But let’s back up a bit.  Event Director Tanya Jones with help from Terri Forrest Champney, and a host of others, promise a great time for, all with plenty to do.  Thanks so much to these ladies and the staff that work all year long for this great event.  This year, events for Mayberry Days start on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017.  Monday has music and a comedian, John Floyd…and of course the newly renovated Andy Griffith Museum, which is open daily.  Tuesday has repeat performances of the music and comedy, and adds a performance by The Embers at the Blackmon Amphitheatre.  Wednesday, it the day the Post Office starts using the postmark of Mayberry on any cards and letters you send (a pretty cool souvenir to send to yourself)!  Also the Caribbean Chillers will perform at the Blackmon in the evening.  The big event on Thursday is The Emmett, (named in honor of Andy’s longtime friend and Museum creator, Emmett Forrest) aka the Mayberry Days Golf Tournament.  Followed by a great 2:30 pm show - Margaret Kerry:  Tinkerbell Meets Andy Griffith show at the Historic Earle Theatre.  The Mayberry Days Dinner and Entertainment after the golf tournament is at 4:30 pm.  The Tams perform at the Blackmon at 8:00 pm.  Friday it really starts to crank up…with the Horseshoe Pitching contest, and the Mayors Proclamation…officially opening the Mayberry Days festivities.  Here is where you can firs see and hear from the stars:  “Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou), Rodney Dillard (and the current Dillards’ Band), Maggie Peterson (Charlene Darling), Clint Howard (Leon),  Ronnie Schell (two episodes and also Duke Slater on "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.), "LeRoy Mack" McNees (two episodes as the Dobro-playing Country Boy), Margaret Kerry (Bess Muggins and Helen Scobey),  Joy Ellison (Mary Wiggins and others), Bettina Linke (wife of late associate producer Richard O. Linke), Karen Knotts, and George Lindsey Jr.” [1]  And other notables may end up coming and surprising us as well…even a chance to meet Andy Griffith’s daughter, Dixie.  And of course, the Mayberry Deputy and all of the other Tribute Artists will be on hand.  Afterwards, shows by Karen Knotts, Rodney Dillard and Ronnie Schell are “don’t miss” events…no matter if you’ve seen them before or not.  A pork chop eating contest, Aunt Bee’s Bake Sale, Mrs. Wiley’s Tea, Pie Eating contests are all good to see.

At 3:30 pm…Memories of Elvis with Michael Hoover is an outstanding concert. Also at the Blackmon Amphitheatre, the Mayberry Minutemen Youth Trivia Contest starts, followed by the World championship of TAGS Trivia, officiated by the Tribute Artists at 4:30 pm.  So you think YOU KNOW MAYBERRY???  I did too, until the first time I participated in the Trivia Contest, and only got a small number correct. It is a site to behold if you’ve not seen one.  Be there!

Right after we generally get together and take a picture with the online chapters and web page groups.  Come and meet those that you interact with online as part of the Mayberry family.

Also at 4:30 pm, Leroy Mack will perform his concert at the Andy Griffith Theatre.  (He was one of the “country boys” Band that appeared and played in the “Mayberry on Record” episode. Another great show to see. At 5:30, the Barbeque Judging starts.  At 7:00 pm The Malpass Brothers perform and James Gregory “The Funniest Man in America” goes on at 8:00 pm.  At 9:30, a wonderful show and concert is on stage at the Historic Earle Theatre…The VW Boys.

Saturday is BIG.  I mean Big BIG!  The Mayberry Days Parade starts at 9:00 pm.  People will line the streets “10 deep” for about 2/3 of a mile…so get there early and claim your spot.  Then there’s Horseshoe Pitching, Goober Says Hay Bale Throwing, Barbeque, Vendors at the Playhouse, a big Silent Auction of Mayberry collectibles, another Karen Knotts Show, Mayberry Idle Talent Show, Chester Jones Checkers Tournament, a Corn Hole Toss Championship, and Professor Brower’s Lecture and TAGS Meeting.  The Squad Car Tours, a visit to Wally’s Filling Station and a stop into the Courthouse are all great attractions!  There will be Autograph Sessions with some of the stars below the Andy Griffith Museum starting around 11:00 am until. 

There are two Big Shows of Col. Tim’s Talent Time at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm.  (These usually sell out so get your tickets now).  These shows will feature many of the stars from the series, as well as the Tribute Artists performing and reenacting some of your favorite comedy skits from the show. Among the Tribute Artists expected to attend and perform at Mayberry Days are:  The Mayberry Deputy (David Browning), Allan “Floyd” Newsome, Kenneth “Otis” Junkin, Phil “Ernest T” Fox, Jeff “Howard Sprague” Branch, Michael “Gomer” Oliver, Tim “Goober” Pettigrew, Keith “Col. Harvey” Brown, Christie “Andylina” McLendon, Eric “Mayor Pike” Lowry, Bob “Briscoe” Mundy, Ted “Mr. Wheeler/Mr. McBeevee” Womack, Eli “Opie” Austin, Alma “Aunt Bee” Venable, Rick “The Jinx, Henry Bennett” Grimsley, Dennis “Mr. Schwump” Beales, Michelle “Skippy” Bryson, Dixie “Daphne” Griffith,  Mike “Sgt. Carter” Haviland, and Ronnie “Salt and Pepper Barney” Felker, and his wife Elease “Thelma Lou” Felker.  There will a host of other tributes that may be coming as well…Bo “Briscoe” Pierce, Ken “Barney” Anderson, Phil “Ernest T” Lee…and even Mr. Jim Clark...author and the "Head Goober" that started all of this...so do keep your eyes peeled.

Another concert at the Blackmon at 7:30 featuring Balsam Range.

Sunday concludes the festival but has several enjoyable events including Mayberry Days Chapel at the Blackmon at 9:30 am, some more music throughout the day and a special movie showing at 4:00 and 7:00 pm. And music by the Lisemby Family at 6:30 at the Blackmon.

So “Why Go to Mayberry Days?”…the biggest event for Mayberry Fans all year long?  A better question my friends is “Why in the world would you not go to Mayberry Days?” 

---

[1] http://tagsrwc.com/the_ebullet/

Getting My Dose of Mayberry

I don’t know about you folks, but I go through times where I just need a good dose of Mayberry.  I don’t mean binging on watching the episodes, but interacting with other Mayberryians.

So here’s how I like to do it:

1)  I LOVE going to the www.iMayberryCommunity.com site and reading the discussion forum, adding comments to it and communicating with over 950 members, from all over the country, on Mayberry related trivia and just general conversation.  There is something special about this community of folks.  The page also links you to Weaver’s Department Store, and the “Two Chairs, No Waiting” podcast. Weaver's has some great deals on Mayberry apparel, collectibles and some rare treasures. Anybody that is ANYBODY Mayberry, just has to shop at Weaver's!  The Two Chair No Waiting Podcast is iconic in and of itself.  So much information, and so much fun to listen and participate during the show in the Chat Room!  If you haven't been there, you gotta go!

2)  The Facebook Groups are awesome.  There are several out there:  Mayberry, Our Favorite Hometown, TAGSRWC; Only One Word I Can Think of…Big, Mayberry After Midnight, The Andy Griffith Show, TAGS, and I Miss Mayberry.  All unique, and all run by good folks.  The nice thing about them is that they are ALL Mayberry, ALL the time.  No negative attitudes, no politics, no sales, no criticizing allowed…Just Mayberry Fun!

3)  I have our local TAGS Rerun Watchers Club, Trivial Trivialities, and we love to throw out trivia, quotes and pictures to each other.  It’s hard to even see one of them on Facebook and not find a way to make a Mayberry related comment on their posts.  Getting together with them periodically helps me get my dose of Mayberry.

4)  Since I am fortunate enough to be a part of the Tribute Artists group, I absolutely love these folks and their families.  We all communicate regularly on group messaging and it is very special when we get together at events.  There is a kinship among these folks that is hard to describe, other than respect, admiration and a feeling of family!

5)  Mayberry Events.  I look so forward to attending and participating in the Mayberry events.  There are several super events that are available.  I hope you can go to some.  Starting around April, there’s the Eagle’s Wings Fundraiser (Tuscaloosa, AL), then Mayberry in the Midwest in May (Danville, IN), Mayberry Meet Up in July (Mt. Airy, NC), Mayberry Nights in August (Troy, NC), Annual Mayberry Days in September (Mt. Airy, NC), and the Cruise to Mayberry in October (Out of Charleston, SC) to name a few.  To see a more complete listing of events, click HERE. 

6.  Your local chapter of The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club.  Take a look on the web page to see all the chapters and type in your state, then try to find one near you by clicking HERE  

 

7.  If you don’t find a Rerun Watchers Clun near you, then start your own.  Click HERE to find out how. 

 See you in Mayberry!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A SALUTE

Whether I go to the grocery store, or to Wal-Mart, or just drive up to the mall…I HATE to be in a long line.  If people were attentive to the task at hand, and moved with due diligence, it would be different, but they don’t! Even waiting at the traffic light, and I am just four cars back…I know that because of drivers not paying attention or just lackadaisically moving along…I may not make the light.  I am especially irked by the “rubber-necking” drivers that just have to slow down and take a good long look at either a stranded motorist, a car pulled over by an officer of the law, or a wreck.  “JUST PRESS THE GAS and MOVE ALONG!”

We hurry up and wait through most of life.  We wait on the TV Repair guy (unless it’s George’s TV Repair”).  We wait on the lady on the phone after she tells us your wait time is 18 minutes.  We wait on the person to get someone on the phone to answer our question about whether or not they have a product on the shelf at one of those big box stores.  We wait on a table when we go out to dinner, even though we made a reservation. (Unless it’s the Bluebird Diner.)
Now, let me back up, and allow my blood pressure to come back down, and talk about the NOT having to wait.

Mayberry fans all over the world have come to know the meaning of “Two chairs.  No waiting.”  It’s the dream of Floyd Lawson, the quirky town barber, to have two barber chairs in his shop so there wouldn’t be any wait time for customers.  Of course he’d have to have two barbers, and that didn’t work out so well in “The Bookie Barber” episode (S2 E28).  Nonetheless, Floyd had to give it a try, and certainly had “the magazines to swing it.”  I know that I can walk right down the street to Floyd’s Barber Shop and NOT have to wait a long time.  Even if I did, it would be a fun wait.

I also know that I can tune in on most Monday nights and 8:00 PM (EST) and find a lot of my friends in a Guest Chat Room, because here is the “Two Chairs.  No Waiting” podcast.  The easiest way to find it is to go to www.imayberrycommunity,com and click on the podcast there.  You can listen to the podcast, and enjoy some of the best entertainment news on the planet.  News about cast and crew, tribute artists, upcoming events, trivia, interviews, new books, and more.  You can even join in the Chat Room.  The proprietor of “Two Chairs. No Waiting” is Allan Newsome.  He’s done over 400 podcast episodes to date.  Allan also owns the iMayberryCommunity.com fan page, the WBMUTBB (Who’s Been Messing Up the Bulletin Board) fan page, along with several others, and he and his wife Jan also operate Weaver’s Department Store (even on days when Bert Miller isn’t working his street stand).   Allan is also the tribute artist that portrays Floyd, the Barber, and has ably done so for about 20 years.  Along the parade routes and through the Mayberry crowds, he’s always willing to give you a snip and check the length of your sideburns.  In real life, he’s an engineer and lives in the state of Alabama.  No matter how busy his personal life is, he always finds time to share his love of Mayberry.  Whether you’re a casual fan of the show (and it’s hard to just be a casual fan), or a diehard “trained notice” like Barney Fife, Allan’s podcast will give you that down home good feeling.  It’s light hearted, chocked full of information, and provides insights into the lives of the cast, crew and tribute artists that collectively keep the show’s life blood flowing.

I enjoy all of the pages Allan maintains for our enjoyment, the Facebook posts he makes, the pictures he shares, the podcasts he produces, and most of all, appreciate the energy he puts into making Mayberry fun for all of us.  Not only will you get to know more about Mayberry, but you’ll come to appreciate more of who Allan Newsome is and has been for all of our enjoyment. Like Floyd once said to Andy…we say to Allan…”you’re a prince of a fella.”  So find and join the imayberrycommunity.com page, join the WBMUTBB page and tune into the "Two Chairs.  No Waiting" podcast...you'll be glad you did.